More warrants expected to be unsealed in teacher's murder

NEWTON, N.C. - Channel 9 confirmed three more search warrants are expected to be unsealed and released Friday morning.

Tune into Channel 9 and return to www.wsoctv.com for complete coverage on the case.

Early Thursday, Eyewitness News obtained search warrants in the Maggie Daniels murder case that were unsealed by a judge and shed light on how she was killed.

Meanwhile, Channel 9 discovered that the district attorney will be seeking the death penalty against Sharman Odom, the man accused of sexually assaulting and killing the popular 31-year-old Discovery High School counselor.

Investigators said Odom kidnapped and sexually assaulted Daniels before strangling her on June 27. Her body was discovered inside her home at the Windsor Apartments in Newton.

Odom lived just a few doors away.

The search warrant states Daniels’ body was found on the floor of her bedroom of her Newton apartment. She was clothed only in a pair of shorts.

The warrants revealed there were marks around Daniels' neck suggesting she was strangled in her bedroom.

Several items of furniture in the bedroom were damaged or askew, suggesting a struggle took place, the warrant states. There were no signs of forced entry in Daniels apartment, but her front door was unlocked, the warrant states.

According to search warrants, Odom's neighbor said Odom often talked about Daniels and showed him a picture of her from her Instagram or Twitter.

The neighbor told investigators Odom made mention of Daniels several times in the past. The neighbor said Odom stated that Daniels was attractive and made a statement about wanting to “get with” her, the warrant states.

The neighbor told investigators that Odom showed him a photograph of Daniels that he had on an electronic device from her Instagram or Twitter account about a month before the homicide, the warrant states. The neighbor said that Odom mentioned that Daniels had a boyfriend that came in on the weekends.

The warrant went on to state; the neighbor said it appeared Odom knew Daniels’ habits. Neighbors also told investigators that Odom would watch Daniels sunbath in her front yard.

The warrants stated that DNA swabs were taken from numerous parties except Odom, who refused, saying he "did not trust law enforcement."

The warrants reveal that the crime scene search of Daniels' apartment was performed by Newton PD and the NCSBI. A number of items were seized and are being processed by the North Carolina State Crime Lab. Items of DNA evidence have been processed with unknown male DNA being present.

The warrants go on to reveal that several dark colored curly hairs were found between Daniels' fingers and did not appear to be consistent with any of her head or body hair.

A bottle of “scrubbing bubbles” with bleach was located at the crime scene, which the warrant states was possibly used to clean the victim.

Detectives used an alternate light source and found an unknown stain on Daniels’ back. The warrant states Odom is a known car detailer and has cleaning chemicals in his work vehicle by his own admission.

The warrant states Odom had a number of electronic devices including an iPhone. A neighbor of Odom’s stated that Odom would sit in his vehicle at late hours looking at an electronic device outside his apartment.

Investigators seized all devices from Odom that were capable of capturing or storing a digital image including cell phones, web cameras and digital cameras.

The warrant states investigators seized call logs, including incoming and outgoing and missed calls as well as Phonebook and contacts to include phone numbers and email addresses, text messages and attached multimedia files.

Newton resident Sandra Sanchez has been following the case. Her daughter was a student where Daniels taught.

“It's a shame that a young lady, a dedicated school teacher, had to suffer like that,” Sanchez said.

Odom is a person of interest in a rape case fom December 2012, where the victim stated that a black male held a rag over her face which had a chemical smell. Odom lived in the same complex as the victim at the time of the event, the warrant states.

Although police have never told Channel 9 what was in the warrants before they were unsealed, investigators did reveal some of what was discovered in Odom's apartment, saying there was a lock of his hair in a shoebox in his closet and ‘selfies’ on his iPhone showing scratches on his face the day Daniels’ body was found.

Items submitted to crime lab from scene:

DNA swabs from multiple people

Yellow towel between the victim’s feet

DNA swabs from the victim

Purple towel from bathroom sink

Pink shorts

Hair-like material from shorts

Cutting taken from shorts (both sides)

Bloodstains from Daniels

A grand jury indicted Odom on first-degree murder, first-degree sexual offense and first-degree kidnapping in connection to the case on Aug. 18.

He is expected to appear in court Oct. 6.

After his first court appearance on Aug. 4, Odom's mother tried to knock the microphones out of the hands of a Channel 9 reporter and assaulted two photographers.

The Channel 9 reporter and photographer were not injured, but another photographer received a cut on his face. Newton police said Odom’s mother, Darlene Odom, faces three assault charges. Her court date was set for Sept. 10.

Odom is connected to three other assault cases.

In one case, he was arrested for allegedly choking a woman in a Charlotte motel room in 2012.

Prosecutors never took the case to trial, citing a lack of evidence.

TIMELINE OF MAGGIE DANIELS CASE:

June 28: Maggie Daniels was found dead in her apartment.

July 7: A funeral was held for Maggie Daniels.

July 8: Surveillance photo of Maggie Daniels the day before she died was released.

July 16: Person of interest who was mentioned in one of Daniels’ social media post was cleared.

July 26: Search warrants were executed for Daniels’ apartment complex and cellphone records.

Aug. 2: Sharman Odom was arrested in Winston-Salem in connection to Daniels’ homicide.